by Andy Cook

Scriptures: Luke 1:34-38 ; John 2:1-5 ; Matthew 12:46-50 ; John 19:25

"Try praising your wife even if it does frighten her at first." - Billy Sunday

"If evolution is true, how come mothers still have only two hands?" - Spotted on a church sign

We celebrate Mother's Day to recognize the sacrifice of Mothers.

What a wonderful thing that God's Word has so many messages just for moms, messages for parents really, for moms, dads, and grandparents. There are also those listening who will one day be in the delightful company of parents, and there are single adults who have such profound influence on our homes.

History's most famous mother was called by mother to her task, just as parents today are called by God to their task.

I. A mother called by God submits completely to God's will

When Mary was only a teen-ager, she was confronted with the challenge to be completely submitted to God's will. When Gabriel gave her the angelic message that she was to carry the Christ, Mary was stunned.

The key phrase? "I am the Lord's servant. May it be …"

Mary never wavered from her complete submission to God's will.

Was she nervous? Certainly. Was she unsure of her own abilities? Who wouldn't be? Was she anxious about the prophecy that part of her future would include pain? Of course.

Mary was a little like the mother who sits up late at night, far past her bedtime, waiting for the date to be over. She was like the father who said the silent, heart-felt prayer as he watched his child drive away from the house, taking all those raw instincts into streets of great danger. Mary was like any parent in this room, who wanted only the best, only the most protection, for her child ... and fully aware that life happens, and not all of life is pleasant.

But Mary was unlike a lot of parents in the world today. Mary was first of all completely committed to God. She was so committed to God, she had no room for commitment to anything else. And that made her a mother worth imitating.

II. A mother called by God does not have to be perfect

This is great news!

Linda Huckins, of Malden, Massachusetts, tried perfection one day, on the day her daughter got married. As she tells the story, she went to the front of the church to light one of the three candles. "Not realizing the potential hazard, I got too close and set my acrylic nail on fire.

Trying not to ruin my daughter's big day, I calmly lit the candle from my flaming nail and then, like a gunslinger with his six-shooter, I blew it out. Needless to say, my blackened nail was the talk of the reception!" (Linda Huckins, Malden, Massachusetts. "Rolling Down the Aisle," Christian Reader).

Dr. Benjamin Carson, renowned surgeon at Johns Hopkins, tells a moving story about his mother. Mrs. Carson insisted that Ben and his brother Curtis write a book report every couple of weeks. This wasn't for school - this was for their mom. Ben and Curtis dutifully obeyed.

About the time he was in junior high, Ben finally realized something quite shocking. His mom couldn't read. For years Ben had read books and scratched out reports, assuming that his mom was checking every word. But she didn't have a clue what he was saying.

Now consider this: Raised by an illiterate mother, Ben grew up to be a world-famous surgeon who was featured in many articles and was the author of several books. His illiterate mom didn't twist her hands over her lack of learning and give up hope of raising intelligent boys. Instead, she gave her boys what she had - interest, accountability, and the courage to demand extra work. (Gifted Hands, 1990, Ben Carson).

Despite the fact that she was the mother of Jesus, Mary wasn't perfect! When Jesus performed his first miracle, Mary's conversation is the most unusual part of the water-turned-into-wine story.

Jesus said to Mary, "Woman, why do you involve me?" It's not my time! Two things: First, a word to children … Don't try this at home! Second, think of the awkwardness of this situation. Mary's request and conversation with Jesus appears to be out of line with what Jesus was ready to do. Though Jesus performed the miracle, there's a feeling that he did so in part because his mother put him on the spot.

If that's not a clear indication of Mary's imperfection, a second case is.

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

If Mary had understood the task of Jesus, would she have tried to interrupt him, or even agree with his unbelieving brothers that his ministry needed to be tempered. Stopping the ministry of Jesus, even for a little white? That was a mistake on Mary's part.

You've made mistakes in the past, you'll certainly make a mistake or two today, and you'll make more mistakes tomorrow. Through it all, God will love you, work with you, and accept you. Through it all, your task of mothering, or of grand-mothering, will be accomplished.

How many women have been discouraged by the last few words of Proverbs? It is there that the author writes of the perfect woman. There are 22 lines in the poem, and each one of them begins with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. It's an acrostic poem that speaks of an imaginary woman. She never sleeps, and she always works. OK, so that's the part of the poem that is reality. But in the poem, she manages a fleet of ships, she runs a farm, she manages a staff, she sews like a fashion expert, she cooks, cleans, and home-schools her children. She has a feast waiting on her husband when he arrives home from his much-less demanding job, and she needs no car pool whatsoever. She simply puts on her Super-mother cape and flies her children to their next appointment.

If we were to see in English what we can't see in Hebrew, perhaps it would be a poem that said, "A is for the Apple pie she bakes; B is for the babies she loves; C is for the cleaning of the house;" right on down to "Z is for the Zoo she manages in the back yard." Any woman who tries to emulate the woman of Proverbs 31 will understand the first line that says, "A wife like this ... who can find her?!"

III. A mother called by God never relinquishes the title

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother ...

Mary didn't stand stoically and passively by at the foot of the cross, as if she were already made out of stained glass. She crumpled at the cross. She fell down to the depths there, moaning and wailing and begging the God of heaven to stop her hell on earth.

The truth of Simeon's prophecy at the birth of Jesus was suddenly true. The cross cut deeply into Mary's heart. Despite the pain, however, Mary was there. She was a mother from the beginning, and a mother at the end. A mother called by God never relinquishes the title.

You'll find mothers like that in the halls of children's hospitals, in funeral homes and in the counselors' offices. Mothers never relinquish the title, even if the child is rebellious, harsh, or cruel. Her heart just will not allow it. Not when she is called by God.

Sometimes, the most difficult decision a mother will ever make comes right at the beginning. There continue to be that brave lot of young woman who realize, under the rarest of circumstances, that the best gift they can give their child is the gift of adoption. And all over the world, that painful giving up of a baby is a whole lot like the painful giving up of a son on a cross. But even at that moment of giving up, a mother's love dominates the scene. It is sacrificial, it is painful ... but it is a loving moment of care, and mothers who give their children to families patiently standing in a line of love need to be applauded, loved, and recognized.

When a woman becomes a mother, when a man becomes a father, there is an instant realization that the day will almost certainly come when pain dominated the picture. The crosses are different for every family, but frankly, the crosses usually come. There may be a divorce, or disease, or death. There may be harsh words, and unacceptable actions. There may be tough love, and impossible nights.

Through it all, mothers called by God never relinquish the title. Never. There is nothing like a mother's love.

Conclusion

Mary had a chance to see God's entire plan played out. She suffered through the crucifixion, celebrated the resurrection, and even was part of the small group that witnessed the powerful presentation of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:14)

What a gift from God, to live long enough for parenting to make sense! Some parents live long enough to see God's plan for their children. Some see God working in the lives of their grandchildren. Some surely only see God's plan from the halls of heaven.

It's a bit unusual to close a message from the newspaper comic strips, but the children of Family Circus were once discussing babies. One of the young experts announced: "Storks don't bring babies. They come UPS." Some of the other children had different ideas, but the best was saved for last. "Babies," said one, "are connected to their mothers by a biblical cord."

Every idea from this message has come from the Bible. There are so many solid principles for parenting in the Bible, no parent can afford to not know them. If you're going to be a godly parent, be sure to be immersed in God's Word, fully committed to the calling He's given you.

By Prof. Alyce M. McKenzie

Mother's Day is a day when we moms suspect that your cards tell us not who we really are, but who you, our family, society, and maybe even God wishes we were.

Scripture: Proverbs 31:10-31, Luke 18:15-17

"M is for the million things she gave me
 O means only that she's growing old
 T is for the tears she shed to save me
 H is for her heart of purest gold
 E is for her eyes with love light shining
 R is right and right she'll always be

Put them all together and they spell Mother
A word that means the world to me"

There are lots of wonderful moms here today. Moms in traditional families. Moms in special circumstances. Single moms. Step moms. Step in moms. You deserve our honor today. You deserve breakfast in bed. Lunch in bed, if you want. A pendant. Flowers.

Still, in my version of this poem, M is for the mixed feelings I have about Mother's Day. Because no human mom fulfills her role as perfectly as the mom in that poem.

Mother's Day is a day when we moms suspect that your cards tell us not who we really are, but who you, our family, society, and maybe even God wishes we were.

Happy Mother's Day to the mom who keeps the perfect home.
Happy Mother's Day to the mom who sets the perfect table.
Happy Mother's Day to the mom who's raising the perfect kids.

How can we real life moms live up to all of that?

So in my version, M is for mixed feelings.

M is also for the many people Mother's Day leaves out. Moms aren't the only ones trying to fulfill roles that seem to have superhuman requirements. Men. Single dads, doing the work of both parents. Singles. You kids and teens—expected to perform by teachers, parents, coaches. What about a day for you?

M is for the many women Mother's Day leaves out: women who are not mothers by chance or choice.

M is for the many people who might like to send their mother something today as a memento of former days. But that something would not be flowers, a card, or a diamond pendant.

M is for the many things I love about my mother. This is a woman who had four children and helped my dad start a business and was a good cook and has done tremendous good in her community. This is the woman who held my hair out of my face when I was sick and helped me after two difficult births. She called me a couple weeks ago and said, "This Mother's Day, please don't send me another card covered with flowers and filled with flattery. I appreciate your thinking of me, but they always make me cry."

"Why is that, Mom?"

"Oh, Come on, Alyce. Get real! I did the best I could, but I was far from a perfect mom! You remember. You were there!"

So this year I got her a card with that old woman on it with the hairnet and the housedress with a ciggie hanging out of her lip. On the front it says, "Hours of excruciating labor. Millions of poopie diapers. Countless sleepless nights."

You open up the card and on the inside it says, "And you get a card . . . Yeah, that sounds fair."

M is for the Many Things She Does for Us

On a first read, our text for this morning, Proverbs 31:10-31, sounds like an Ancient Near Eastern version of a Hallmark Mother's Day card. M is for a multitasking, maniac mom.

This text has traditionally been called "Ode to an excellent wife." A better translation of the Hebrew would be "Ode to a 'woman of worth.'"

A woman of worth, who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.

She rises while it is still night
and provides food for her household.
Her hands hold the spindle,
and all her household are clothed in crimson.
She reaches out her hands to the needy.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness
Her children rise up and call her happy.

Her husband, too, and he praises her.
"Many women have done excellently,
But you surpass them all."
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

A female friend of mine told me recently, "I hate that text! If anyone reads it at my funeral, I plan to haunt them! No human woman could live up to that. It's a guilt trip waiting to happen."

I feel just the opposite about this text. I hope somebody does read it at my funeral. Most of us think that this poem at the end of the Book of Proverbs is talking about the perfect human mother and homemaker. The total woman. Or as one smart aleck put it, "the totaled woman!"

But recent studies of the text reveal that it's not talking about a human woman at all, but another woman entirely. She is someone who has made several cameo appearances before in the Book of Proverbs. She shows up in chapter 1 standing in the marketplace, calling the young and foolish onto the path of God's wisdom. She shows up in chapter 8, again calling the foolish to seek God's wisdom, and describing her role as a joyful helper with God in the Creation of flora, fauna, Fred and Wilma. She shows up in chapter 9; here she builds the household of Wisdom, and stands before her seven-pillared home inviting passersby to come and feast at her table. This is no maniacal, multitasking human mom, my friends. This is the wisdom of God, imaged in Proverbs as a Wise Woman, a prophetess.

And throughout the thirty chapters that lead up to this final poem, Wisdom is shown as inviting us into her household where she provides us with all the things mentioned in the final chapter: food, clothing, light, wisdom, shelter. All metaphors for Divine nourishment and nurture. Doesn't she remind you of someone? Someone who said, "I am the Bread of Life. I am the Living Water. I am the light of the world. I am the Way the truth and the life?"

M is not for the million things you have to do today or should have done yesterday or better do tomorrow to be the perfect hallmark mom. M is for the many things God's Wisdom provides for us in the difficult roles each of us fills in life.

The Wise Woman, in Proverbs 31 is a nice counterpart to God the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23. Both portray a God who nourishes and protects us when we are vulnerable, weak, and imperfect.

M is for the Many People Christ Invites into His Kingdom

As Christians our invitation to enter the household of God's Wisdom to be fed, taught, sheltered and clothed becomes an invitation to enter the embrace of Christ. "Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them. For to such as these belongs the kingdom of God. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it" (Lk 18:16b, 17).

People were bringing children to Jesus. Such an increasingly popular teacher should not be seen stooping to the level of children. Jesus overrides his disciples' objections and invites children to come to him. How typical of Jesus! No one more than Luke emphasizes how his whole ministry was addressed to those who, like children, were not valued in his day, because his society scorned smallness, weakness, poverty, helplessness, and vulnerability. Jesus invited those who were filled with shame because they were not fulfilling the roles society expected of them. They did not measure up. They were outcasts in their own minds and, often, those of others. Lepers, the women with the hemorrhage, the woman at the well who had been married several times, the woman caught in adultery.

Jesus overrides all objections (even yours) and issues an invitation to you and me just as surely as to those children hundreds of years ago.

Let those who are not fulfilling everybody's expectations for your role in life, come to me. You who have regrets about your past relationships, come to me.

You who have serious doubts about whether you can handle what lies ahead of you, come to me.

You who seethe with resentment toward your parents come to me.

You who are lonely on a family day, come to me.

You who are overburdened, doing the work of at least two people, come to me.

You who feel trapped in an unhealthy relationship, come to me.

You who have thoughts no "good mother" would have, come to me.

You who are in the grip of addictions that damage your relationships—from substances to emotions to habits—come to me.

Let those who know they can no longer do this alone, come to me.

The kingdom of heaven begins for you right now in the arms of your Lord.

What do you see in this picture? A human mother, perhaps sleeping. We can assume, since she is human, that she is not a perfect mother, that the face we can't see sometimes wears a frown of irritation, that the eyes beneath the hat are not always shining with love light. We can imagine that those hands, so peaceful here, are more often busy changing diapers and washing clothes, and preparing food for her child.

But caught in this peaceful moment we sense something else in this picture. A caring presence, whose face we cannot see, but whose love is evident in the embrace with which she holds her child. A child resting in a state of complete trust. The shadow of the parent's hat extends to surround the child: a radiant radius of love.

When I came across the picture shown above in our family photo album, I thought it was a good one for Mother's Day. My brother Wade snapped it while daughter Rebecca, now grown, was sleeping peacefully with me (a far from perfect human mom) at the beach years ago. I thought it was a good picture for Mother's Day. For it is a day when, as the Christian Church, we celebrate not the many things life demands of us, but the manifold provision of God who enfolds us in the divine embrace and invites us into the kingdom that is not yet, but already, whenever we respond to God's invitation.

About The Author:

Alyce M. McKenzie is the George W. and Nell Ayers Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.

My mother taught me RELIGION:
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL:
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

My mother taught me LOGIC:
"Because I said so, that's why."

My mother taught me FORESIGHT:
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

My mother taught me IRONY:
"Just keep laughing and I'll give you something to cry about."

My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS:
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper!"

My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM:
"Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck!"

My mother taught me about STAMINA:
"You'll sit there 'til all that spinach is finished."

My mother taught me about WEATHER:
"It looks as if a tornado swept through your room."

My mother taught me how to solve PHYSICS PROBLEMS:
"If I yelled because I saw a meteor coming toward you; would you listen then?"

My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY:
"If I've told you once, I've told you a million times-Don't Exaggerate!"

My mother taught me THE CIRCLE OF LIFE:
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

My mother taught me about ENVY:
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do!"

by Jerry, Shirley and Grace

Gospel: John 19:26-27

Mary witnessed the crucifixion from the foot of the cross. Can you even imagine how she must've felt?

Jesus turns to John and says, take care of her, and looks at his mother and says, let him stand in my place as your son. John lived a very long life, and I believe he took care of Mary until she went to heaven.

Jesus is on the cross, bearing the weight of the sins of the whole world on His shoulders, yet He sees to it to make sure His mother is taken care of after He is gone! As God, Jesus is dealing w/ eternal matters, but as a man, He's showing all of us today how important it is to take care and love our mothers!

You cannot be willfully wrong with your mother and be right with God. If your mother is still alive, regardless of your and her ages, you can love her in these 7 ways:

1. Love her verbally.

Esp. men have the philosophy - I don't have to say I love you, you already know it. I have told you before, if I change my mind I'll let you know! Or, I SHOW love, not just say it…and that may be true, but a woman needs to hear those words, "I Love You!"

Children need to hear it…and saying it makes you more of a man, not less! And spouses need to hear it too…

DEAR ABBY: I enlisted shortly after Pearl Harbor. Thirty-six days later, I was on my way to the Philippines. En route, the Philippines fell to the Japanese, and we were routed to Australia. Eleven days after we landed, I met the most beautiful girl in the world.

On our first date, I told her I was going to marry her. I did, 18 months later, while on a 10-day R-and-R leave from New Guinea.

After more than 57 years of marriage and two children, my beloved "Mary" died five days before Christmas. Although we agreed that our ashes were to be scattered over the mountains, I found I could not part with hers.

While Mary was alive, she would frequently say, "You don't know how much I love you." I'd reply, "Likewise." I never said, "I love you." Now her ashes are on my dresser, where I tell her several times a day how much I love her, but it's too late. Although I wrote poetry to her, I could not bring myself to say the three words I knew she wanted most to hear.

As my dearest was dying and we thought she was comatose, I told her, "There aren't enough words to tell you how much I love you." A few hours later, she whispered, "Not enough words" and died.

The reason I'm writing is to urge men to express their feelings while their loved ones are alive. I don't know why, but many men are reluctant to express the depth of their feelings. -- MISSING MARY IN COLORADO

Our spouses need to hear it, our children…our mothers also!

Some men would say, I'm just not turned that way…then turn around! "I'm just not comfortable"…then be uncomfortable!

Verbally…

2. Love her physically.

When's the last time you gave her a big hug w/ out her asking for it…or a kiss on the cheek, or a neck rub, or just sat on the couch and held her for a change?

She's the first person who ever touched you…she wrapped you up in her womb for months, and you came out and first priority was to hold you, and she cuddled you, stroked your head, rubbed your feet, held your little cheeks against her, gave you a finger to grasp…in love she did all these things, including grooming you w/ a licked thumb!

When you were little she could say, "give me sugar", and you'd pucker up and she'd accept your wet, sloppy kiss and even say thank you! You give her bear hugs so tight she didn't have to hold on to you…you'd just cling to her as she walked around!

She changed your diapers, potty trained you, and held the Kleenex for you to blow your nose! She wiped food off of your face years longer than she should have had to!

She constantly touched you! And she may have to hand you off to another, and her life may endure some heavy changes, but she deserves your touch and should never have to give that up completely!

It would mean more to her than flowers or candy, or eating out, or a diamond necklace [well, let's not go too far!]

I had to tell my wife the other day about several other ladies pawing at me. I had just come from a visit at the nursing home!…I've spent countless hours in those places and when this ruddy, Opie faced kid walks in there's not a single instance in which some of those precious old ladies don't try to reach out and touch me, a total stranger! You can tell, she's starved for that simple, innocent brand of physical love.

Physically, verbally…

3. Love her patiently.

Mothers have an incredible job w/ no pay. No position in the business world compares to the physical, emotional, and spiritual commitment she has in motherhood.

No Occupation

She rises up at break of day and through her tasks she races.
She cooks the meals as best she may and scrubs the children's faces
While schoolbooks, lunches, homework too, all need consideration...
And yet the census man insists
She has - "No Occupation"

When breakfast dishes all are done
She bakes a pudding, maybe.
She cleans the rooms up, one by one,
With one eye watching baby.
The mending pile she then attacks
by way of variation.
And yet the census man insists
She has - "No Occupation."

She irons for a little while, then presses pants for Daddy.
She welcomes with a cheery smile returning lass and laddie.
A hearty dinner next she cooks (no time for relaxation),
And yet the census man insists
She has - "No Occupation."

Don't ever make the mistake of asking a lady, Do you work, or stay at home? The only thing worse you can ask is when she's due if you're not 100% sure she's expecting! And many ladies today have to work on top of the full time job they already have.

Here's the point, in spite of all she does for us, we often become impatient with her…we get so used to her taking care of things we come to expect it and are outraged that "those clothes are still dirty?" / that's not ironed? / you're out of my favorite cookies? / you know I like that over rice, where is it?

She's picking you up at school because you don't like to ride the bus, but she's scolded for being 5 minutes late!

Love her patiently. Because she's tender to your needs is no reason to take advantage of her, it's reason to be patient and to love her all the more!

Teens / jr. ch. agers: it is unfair for you to be more kind, considerate, patient w/ your friends and your friend's mothers than your own mother!

If you treated your friends like you treat your mom you wouldn't have friends, and if you treated their mom like you do yours their mom wouldn't let their kid have anything to do with you! Your mom deserves better…she's not a rug to wipe every negative thought on!

For us adults w/ living mothers: Love her patiently.

Dobson read on Focus on Family Radio - letter from 80 yr. old woman on her birthday:

To all my children:

I suppose my upcoming birthday started my thoughts along these lines...This is a good time to tell you that what I truly want are things I can never get enough of, yet they are free. I want the intangibles.

I would like for you to come and sit with me, and for you to be relaxed. We can talk, or we can be silent. I would just like for us to be together.

I need your patience when I don't hear what you say the first time. I know how tiresome it is to always be repeating, but sometimes I must ask you to repeat. I need your patience when I think too much about the past, with my slowness and my set ways. I want you to be tolerant with what the years have done to me physically.

Please be understanding about my personal care habits. I spill things. I lose things. I get unduly excited when I try to figure out my bank statements. I can't remember what time to take my medication, or if I took it already. I take too many naps. Sometimes sleep helps to pass the day.

Well, there you have it: Time, Patience, and Understanding. Those are priceless gifts that I want. Finally, in his letter, the Apostle Paul wrote, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I know I can, too! It's a wonderful feeling to know His eye is on the sparrow and I know He cares for me. I guess being old isn't so bad after all!

Love,
Mom

Patiently…

4. Love her attentively.

Mothers listen as you pour out your heart…she has a sympathetic ear, and always has…and even as an adult you've gone to her when you want someone who will really listen and understand…and she'll always be on your side.

Ill. - A documentary last year of men going to execution for capital crimes. They interviewed the men and their mothers, too. Invariably the moms would say, He's such a good boy! Interviewer: yes, but he slaughtered 37 w/ an axe!... "I know, but he has a good heart!"

It's no wonder we like to talk to mom…she listens…but now she has issues, and now it's your turn to be her "rock"…and take time to listen…it's payback time!

"But, she's always complaining"…yes, just like you did!
Talks about herself / asks same question over and over…

In their older days, our parents have many fears / anxieties…may we treat them as we'd hope to be treated when we are in their shoes!

Attentively, patiently…

5. Love her gratefully.

Ill. - An elementary science class had been studying magnets, and how metal objects are attracted to them. At the end of the semester the teacher put on exam this question: 6 letters, starts w/ "M", picks up things, what am I? Over half the children wrote [say it together...] "Mother"!

She needs a sincere thank you, and not just today, but from a genuinely thankful heart when least expected!

A few years ago Kimberly's dad sat us down and said, "You all are living the best days of your life right now, because you have your children and your parents." It caused us to realize 2 truths: one about our parents:, and how we won't always have them. And another about our children:…let's be the kind of parents we ought to be!

6. Love her generously.

There's nothing too good for her, we could never repay her, but we ought to die trying before she does! She didn't spend on herself unless all your needs were met…she could easily do without, and now it's time for her to have something she wants!

She clears her schedule so she can run you around…she gives up opportunities so you can have more opportunities!

Ill. - Math question, state your answer as a fraction: If there's 10 at the table and one apple pie, how much does each one get?
One ninth!
"Don't you know your fractions?"
"Do you know my mother? If there's that many at the table and only one pie, she don't want none!"

Love her generously…

7. Love her honorably.

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
 - Exodus 20:12

This is binding as long as your mother lives. Another command says children, obey…non-binding when you leave home, but "honor" is different! If the husband is the head of the home, then the mother is the heart...don't break her heart!

"Yeah, but my mother wasn't honorable!" Well, the Bible says nothing about that qualification…it only asks, is she your mother!

By the way, it's the only one of the 10 commandments which includes a built-in promise of blessing!

When God created mothers

When the good Lord created mothers, He was into His sixth day of overtime, when an angel appeared and said,

"You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

The Lord replied, "have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; Have 180 moveable parts ... all replaceable; Run on black coffee and leftovers; Have a lap that disappears when she stands up; A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointing love affair; And six pair of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pair of hands? No way!"

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord. "It's the three pair of eyes that mothers have to have.

"One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows.
Another in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn't, but what she needs to know, and of course the ones in front that look at a child when he goofs up and say, 'I understand and I love you,' Without so much as uttering a word."

"I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already, I have one who heals herself when she is sick ...can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger ...and get a nine year old to stand under a shower.
Not only can she think, she can reason and compromise."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the mother.
"There's a leak," she pronounced, "I told you that you were trying to put too much in this model."

"That's not a leak," said the Lord, "it's a tear."

"What is it for?" asked the angel.

The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness and pride."

"You're a genius!" shouted the angel.

With a somber look on his face, the Lord said,
"I didn't put it there."

How about a hand now for the crowning jewel of God's creation: our mothers!

Prayer:

Lord, help us never to be too busy for mom…if you could take time and great effort for her on the cross in your death, help us to love her while we have her in our life!